Disney forces explicit Club Penguin clones offline

Disney has ordered unauthorised copies of its Club Penguin game to close, after the BBC found children were being exposed to explicit messages.

Visits to fan-run Club Penguin Online surged during the coronavirus pandemic with more than a million new players.

But racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic and sexual messages flow freely on the unauthorised platform.

Disney said it was "appalled" by the website, and has ordered it to close or face legal action.

Club Penguin Online appeared to go offline on Friday afternoon.

One man involved in the site has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child abuse images.

Detectives say the man from London has been released on bail pending further inquiries.

Fan-operated clones
Disney's Club Penguin was one of the first social networks for children. Launched in 2005, it had more than 200 million players at its peak.

While anybody could join the original website, content filters and human moderators were employed to stop inappropriate messages or personal information from being shared.